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Connecting To A 'Nature Friend' (Quick Practice)
 - This is how nature dialogue works - Think of something in nature you would like to befriend and have a dialogue with. Sit next to a stream or plant, pick up a
bit of nature, like a rock. (ex., Position yourself near a tree you have met on your walk.)
- Now, take some deep breaths in and out, and quiet yourself. (Allow time.) Be still. Keep your eyes open, look at your nature friend, smile externally and
internally, and then say, "Hello!" Nature dialogue is just like the two of us talking -- we look at each other ("Hello, Tree, I would like to talk to you.").
Call each 'nature friend' by its personal name - Tree, Rock, Stream...
- Sincerely introduce yourself -- get connected through your greeting -- have a little 'small talk' ("You know, Tree, I've been walking past you every day as I
go in my house. I really need to find out more about you."). You're talking to your friend, just freely, opening up…These conversations can really happen, so
believe this as you speak.
- As you smile -- open your heart and expand your heart space, big enough to include you and your newly discovered friend. Allow both of your
'auric energies' to blend together.
 - While you are in this combined energy space, focus on bringing your friend's energies into your heart. The heart is where nature dialogue occurs.
As I feel this connection growing, I will continue to repeat my greeting to my friend (“Hello Tree...Hello Tree...”). Allow time for the core of energy to
flow from your friend, (the tree), into your heart.
Helpful Hint – Notice, when you smile externally and internally while looking at your nature friend, your conscious-self easily drops down to your chest.
This area is where the conversation happens (the nature talking position), away from your head (self chatter).
- Once you are feeling a quiet stream of energy from your friend as it flows into your heart space, allow for a connective moment. Say hello to your
nature friend again ("Hello, Tree, I would like to talk to you.What can you tell me?”). While you softly smile with eyes open, listen attentively with
your heart. Let the presence of yourself be in your heart area. Listen with your heart.
 - Now, here is the "tricky" part -- initially, you must believe the voice you hear is not yourself responding to your own questions. The voice may sound like
yours, your voice with an accent, or you may hear, "Hello, Dear One," spoken lovingly and delicately. A first thought may be that this has come from you.
A gentleman had attended one of my nature dialogue classes. His 'homework assignment' was to walk outside, using newly learned techniques, striking conversation with
different plants that encircled his house. Returning to class the next day, he stated of what he had heard, "I could have said that!”, in reference to an answer from the tulip, growing to the right of his
front steps. "I might have made that up!”, as he spoke of the message from the ivy that climbs the tree. "But, I know I didn't think that!", reguarding the words
from the shrub around the side yard. “As I was talking to the shrub, it knew so much about me, the advice was so right on it." He practiced, and kept listening.
- What do you hear? Believe enough to assimilate what you hear. Absorb the message. Repeat to yourself what was said, or write it down. Once conversation
begins, let yourself go. You've made a friend.
- Acknowledge with a 'thank you' when you receive some information, vision, or feeling from your friend ("Thank you, Tree").
Often, I repeat out loud the words I hear ("The world changes with each day -- I help you change with it," said the tree.). Many times physical contact will
help my reception of a message or image, then I quickly write it in my journal to read again. The insight gained has so many layers, I gather more knowledge
each time I read it. At each step of receiving information from helpers, give thanks ("Thank You, Tree!”). Thanking your helpers 'feeds' them with gratitude,
and you have just been 'fed' with new knowledge.
- So, you have received words of personal or global wisdom from your friend. Did this morsel of insight come from your 'friend' (the tree), or did you just
invent the answer? One of the best responses I received to this question came from a Master Nature Teacher, The Bubbling Spring, when I asked, "Did you say that
or did I?"
The immediate tender response was, "Does it matter?” Truthfully, when you have just received some profound perception about yourself that you didn't have
seconds ago, does it matter where it came from? Just let go.
- Repeat any steps needed to expand the conversations with your new friend.
- Keep asking and keep getting answers. The helpers have observations that provide insight you won't develop on your own. It's this realization
that inspires you to have the next adventurous dialogue.
The following happens when you are learning to become an omnidialoguer – one who can dialogue with all things.
Initially, you may receive some connected feeling, a spoken message, a picture, or a moving image. Do you question the origin? The more you analyze this, the less you hear. When teaching dialogue students, I have them initially 'pretend' the words are coming from the subject they are speaking with, even if it may sound like their own voice. To be open to the next morsel of knowledge, 'assume' the friend is speaking to you.
Just relax -- play the game. If you have a fair imagination, you have a head start on two-way conversation. If you are factually based, like I was, you must play 'imagine' to receive what you need -- I wanted a bountiful garden. Connecting with the newly planted starter tomato, I asked what it needed. I thought, "There must be something I could learn from the tomato plant that will get the best tomato sandwich on Earth! So…"Hello tomato plant, how are you...?"
Settle yourself into the relaxed state you are often in when you watch television, movies, or read books -- the 'at ease' place, where you wouldn't question that butterflies, trees and waters are talking. Just become okay with this, like it is normal. As you let go, the reception improves. Allow yourself to wander through the pictures being created from the words, rather than focus on every word and meaning.
 So, you're playing the game, allowing a message to come through. A question commonly asked, "How do I trust this insight? Does it know my best path?"
When a nature helper is speaking to you (like a tree you are touching), in a sense, it is standing in a room with your entire council. Everyone has a helping council throughout their life that keeps their greater purpose in sight. Your wise council is only here to bring you to a higher arena of growth. All is for the greater good, for each of us on this planet.
Nature helpers want to assist in the process of perfecting your soul. They present messages to give you the wisdom to propel your life.
If a message you interpret is "harsh, or demeaning, it's probably you repeating your own negative banter. If you receive negative banter, get your hearing out of your head, you are probably only hearing yourself. Move into your heart/chest area (your two-way radio station). Again, be still. The voices in nature are a variety of inflections and tones. Truthful frankness is usable information, but you will never hear helpers talk harshly to you.
If you receive negativity and feel it doesn't originate from you -- clear the slate. Just say, "Get out of here." Regroup with the energy connection of your new
speaking friend… (touch the tree again -- smiling, ask again,"Hello Tree, how do you help me?"). If you've asked your first question and received a reply, give
thanks and ask the next question, "What do I need to do to have a better life today, nature helper?"
Like any new endeavor that improves with practice, so will your relationship with nature. You will be surprised how quickly you will make a connection. Remember, the other party is trying to call you, too. Practice bringing your friend into your heart. Refer to your nature friend by name, "Hello Rock, hello Tree, hello Flower..." Quiet yourself and listen for a faint voice coming to you.
You are starting a journey to a place of understanding how all things interact. Your reality is just beginning to unfold. Welcome to the natural world!
Blessings,
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